Global tomato market on upward curve

A new study from IndexBox has highlighted the growth of the international tomato market, with production and revenue both rising in recent years.

According to the report, global tomato market revenue grew 6.5 per cent in 2018, up to US$190.4bn, while market value increased at an average annual rate of 3.1 per cent between 2007 and 2018.

In 2018, the volume of tomatoes produced worldwide stood at 188m tonnes, climbing 3.5 per cent on the previous year, while total output volume grew at an average annual rate of 2.9 per cent between 2007 and 2018.

"The general positive trend in terms of tomato output was largely conditioned by moderate growth of harvested area and a mild increase in yield figures," the IndexBox report noted.

In value terms, Mexico took in US$2.3bn in 2018, with the Netherlands generating US$1.9bn and Spain making US$1.3bn.

Total tomato imports came to 6.8m tonnes in 2018, up 4.7 per cent year-on-year and valued at US$9bn.

The US was the leading tomato importer in 2018, bringing in 1.9m tonnes last year at a value of US$2.5bn. It was followed by Germany (729,000 tonnes), Russia (578,000 tonnes), France (493,000 tonnes) and the UK (418,000 tonnes).